Tie plate



W. S. BOYCE TIE PLATE June 17 1924. 1,497,667

Filed Nov. 17. 1923 v 2 sheen-sheer 1 L' idf? June X17 1924. 1,497,667

w. s. BoYcE TIE PLATE Filed Nov. i7. 1923 Y 2 sheets-sheet 2 eLWVMK Patented June 17, 1924.

WILLIAM STEPHEN BOYE, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TIE PLATE.

vapplication mea November 17, 192s. semi :m0

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM STEPHEN Boron, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tie Plates, of which the following is a specification, reference being. had to the accompanying drawings, and to the reference characters marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecication.

This invention relates to an improvement in tietplates of the general type known in the trade as compression plates: such, for example, as illustrated in United States Letters Patent No. 1,219,224, issued to Edwin H. Bell, on March 13th, 1917.

Compression tie plates are characterized by having on a portion of their under or bottom surface, transverse, pointed, tie-engaging ribs and between these ribs, a plurality of parallel, arcuate undulations or depressions, extending lengthwise of the plate and of the tie, and which intersect in lines to form intermediate, yparallel ribs'extending in the plane of the bottom of the plate and lengthwise thereof. These latter ribs enter the tie between the fibres of the tie and by reason of the curved, arcuate surfaces, compress the fibres together and hence the trade-name.` compression tie plates.

ile the tie plate of the said Bell patent possesses certain advantages and improvements in the art, it' has nevertheless demonstrated in use in track that the sharpened, transverse bottom ribs between which the arcuate de ressions extend, actually cut or sever the bres ot. the wood when the plate is being seated in the tie. This action of the ribs which are transverse to the grain of the tie is considered by some engineering ex erts in railroad track construction to be a isadvantage in thatv it tends to the premafture destructlon of the tie and also requires` a relatively lon er period ot use 'in track betore the plate comes properly seated on the tie tor prolonged use. During this period and before the plate becomes securely imbedded in the tie, it shitts, more or less,

and wobbles on the tie under the wave modulations, while overcoming the objections above referred to, and at the same time producing other advantages. .;j

Another object of my invention is to produce a tie plate, the under surface of which .is free from all sharp or libre cutting ribs or edges, while at the same time is possessed of parts adapted to readily enter the tie and seat the plate firmly thereon.

Another object is to strengthen tie plates ofthis type at those points where they are subjected to bending or breaking strains; in other words, to produce a compression type of plate having the minimum of metal and the maximum of rigidity and strength against the buckling or breaking strains to which it will be subject, combinedwith maximum efficiency in the performance Vof its intended functions.

These and other advantages will appear as l[ proceed with the description of my improved tie plate.

lin the drawings:

Fig. l is an elevation or side view of a tie plate constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same.

Bussum Fig. 3 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional y view through the plate. the section being in the plane of thel dotted line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. t is a vertical, transverse, sectional view of the tie plate., the section being in the plane ot the dotted line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view, on a smaller scale, ot a railroad tie showing the adzmanls work preparatory to placing a tie plate thereon.

Figs. 6' and I7 are 'sectional views, similar to Fig. 3, showing the two positions the tie plate assumes upon the tie, as hereinafter more fully explained.

. Referring now more in detail to that ein-f bodiment ot my invention illustrated in the accompanyng` drawings, A represents the tie plate as a. whole, the same being ot the conventional, rectangular, oblong shape, having a flat rail bearin top surtacel, a transverse rail abutting s oulder 2, and inclined or tapered top end portions 13 and 4. B represents a conventional wooden tie as a whole,`having its top surface adzed or cut away, as at 5, tor the reception of a tie plate.

The bottom ot the plate A is rovided with two spaced apart, transversely arran dat, tie bearing surtaces t, t. n

that art i lll@ of the bottom surface of the plate between these transverse 4surfaces 6, 6, there are formed a plurality of parallel, arcuate undulations, depressions or grooves 7, 7, which are comparatively flat or shallow. These grooves' extend -at right angles to the said bearing surfaces 6, 6, that is to say, lengthwise of the plate. The inner edges 8 of the surfaces 6, 6, extend at an engle to the surface and terminate in a curve, both at the top and bottom. 'Ilhus a rounded corner is formed at the top, as indicated at 9, and a fillet 10 is formed at the bottom between the edge 9 and the surface of the groove '7.

The bottom surfaces 11, 11, of the plate, beyondthe outer edges of the bearing surfaces 6, 6, are formed on a different, but parallel plane to the plane of the bearing surfaces 6, 6. When the bearing surfaces 6, 6 rest upon the tie, a small space. indicated in Fig. 6 at 12, separates the surfaces 11 from the top surface of the tie B. The surfaces 6, 6, are made with rounded corners 13 along their outer margins, and the ends of the plate are likewise rounded as indicated at 14.

e arcuate surfaces of the depressions or grooves 7 intersect in a plurality of parallel lines in the plane of the bearing surfaces 6, thereby forming a plurality of parallel ribs 15 extending lengthwise of the plate intermediate thetwo bearing surfaces 6, 6. These ribs 15 thus run parallel with the grain or libres of the wood of the tie when the plate A is placed thereon for use.

The plate may have spike holes 16, if desired. e

It is common practice in track construction, in the laying of new ties in the road bed and also in the relaying of plates and rails upon old ties in track, to' shape or fashion the top surface of the ties to receive the' tie plate. This is done with an adz, by cutting away a portion of the surface, as indicated at 5 in Fig. 5, so that the plate will be more or less seated in the cut-away space. If the adzman is not skilled, or if he is careless, this work results in the` formation of an irregular space f5 sovthat the plate when iirst laid on the tie will rest upon spaced apart bearing surfaces in .the tie. There being no intermediate support between such bearing surfaces, the plate is thus readily buckled or bent by the passage of the train load over the rail and plate. These bearing surfaces may be projections, such as ribs transversely arranged on the bottom of the plate, or they may be, as in the ease of a atbottom plate, the outer portions of the bottom surface, since the intermediate portion of the bottom of the plate would have no support bly eason of the cut away portion 5 of t e ie.

Referring to Fig. 6, it will be seen that no such diliiculty as just mentioned will occur with the laying of my improved tie plate in track, since, in the first instance, the surfaces 11, 11, of the plate do not rest upon the tie, and only the outer portions of the bearing surfaces 6, 6, and their rounded marginal corners 13, 13, are in contact with the tie. When pressure is brought to bear upon the plate A by the workman in seating the plate or in spiking, or by the passage of a trainload thereover, the plate will almost instantly imbed itself to a slight extent in the tie. The space 12 is quickly eliminated so that the surfaces 11, 11. rest upon the tie. The surfaces 6, 6, are pressed down into the cut away ortion 5 and this is more readily accomplis ed by reason of the fact that its outer corners are rounded, as at 13. At the same time, the ribs 15 begin to engage the tie, entering between the fibres thereof and by reason of the curved, arcuate surfaces of the grooves 7, 7, the fibres are spread apart as the tapered rib 15 continues to move into the tie, and compression of the fibres begins. In use, the seating of the plate A on the tie B continues until the plate is driven into the tie so that the surfacesll, 11, are slightly below the top surface of the tie, as indicated at 17 in Fig. 7. In this position, by reason of the construction above described, together with the spikes used in securing the rail to the plate and the plate to the tie. the plate A will be firmly seated upon and united with the tie B- and will resist all tendency to shift or wobble under train load and will lenditself to further depression into the tie as the use in track is continued. y

By reason of the fact that the grooves 7 extend lengthwise of the plate and are joined at their opposite ends to the bearingr surfaces 6, 6, by the metal forming the fillets 10, a very strong construction is attained which resists distortion or buckling action by the load transversely passing over the top surface of the plate.

When the plate is first placed upon the tie, with the surfaces 6, 6, only, resting thereon, the tendency to bend or buckle is resisted by the truss construction of a plurality of arched under surfaces intimately joined and cooperating with the longitudinal ribs 15. As the downward thrust continues, the ribs 15 and the surfaces 6, 6, will be entered further into the tie, the fibres being compressed together until a perfect union of plate and tie results. When this occurs, the load is transmitted through the plate and the tie.

When tie plates break, the break usually occurs at or adjacent to the juncture of the top surface and the rail abutting shoulder. Where the under side of the tie plate is provided adjacent to this location with sha ened ribs or fibre-cutting projections, it 1s found -that the plate has a greater tendency to break at this point. This objection and diiiculty is entirely eliminated by the present invention, in the shaping of the marginal surfaces 8 of the bearing surfaces 6 into yrounded corners and by the additional metal Hat, such surface may conform to any con. Hweiitional or special configuration;

the canted or the camberedtop surface, for instance, coacting equally with my improvements in the bottom of the tie plate. These and other changes may be made`if desired, provided `the essential features of having the end bearing surfaces 11, 11,rr and the transverse bearing surfaces 6, 6, lie in different planes, and of having no fibre cutting points or edges inthe plate of a compression type, being retained.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tie plate having on its bottom, inter- Vlmediate itsl ends, two longitudinally spaced apart, relatively narrow bearing surfaces extending transversely from one side of the plate to the other, a plurality of curved, arcuate compression grooves .extending longitudinally between said bearing surfaces, the ends of the plate bottom having fiat tie engaging surfaces located beyond the bearing surfaces `and in Ia different plane therefrom, and the arcuate surfaces of the grooves intersecting in a plane coincident with the plane of said bearing surfaces.

2. A tie plate having on its bottom, inter-V mediate its ends, two longitudinally spaced apart, relatively narrow bearing surfaces extending transversely from one side of the plate to the other, a plurality of curved, arcuate compression grooves extending longitudinally between said bearin surfaces, the ends of the plate bottom aving Hat tie engaging surfaces located beyond the bearing surfaces and in a different plane therefrom, and the arcuate surfaces of the4 grooves intersecting in a plane coincident with the plane of said bearing surfaces, a curved strengthening fillet joining the compression grooves to the adjacent side margins of the bearing surfaces.

3. A tie plate, the tie engaging bottom of which comprises two transversely extending and longitudinally spaced apart tie bearing surfaces, a plurality of parallel, flattened, arcuate grooves or undulations between said bearing surfaces and extending lengthwise of the plate, the surfaces of said grooves or undulations intersecting to provide a plurality* of parallel tie engaging ribs extending in the direction of the length of the plate and located inthe plane of the said spaced bearing surfaces, and the bottom surfacesof the ends of the plate being in a different but parallel plane tothe plane of the bearing surfaces and ribs.

4. A tie plate having on its bottom, intermediate its ends, two longitudinally spaced apart, relatively narrow bearing surfaces extending transversely from one side of the plate to the other, a plurality of curved, ar# cuate compression grooves extending lon itudinally between said bearing surfaces, ie ends of the plate bottom having Hat tie engaging surfaces located beyond the bearing surfaces and in a different plane therefrom,

and the arcuate surfaces of the grooves intersecting in a plane coincident with the plane of said bearing surfaces, lthe bearing surfaces being provided with rounded corners throughout their length. v

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix -my signature, in the presence of two witnesses, this 13th day of November, 1923. v

WILLIAM STEPHEN BoYcE.

Witnesses TAYLOR E. BROWN, B. L. MACGREGOR. 

